THE call for prayers was reverberating outside the Puskat Cultural Center, Yogyakarta. Achmad, 32, an employee there, hurried to wear a pair of flip-flops instead of his shoes. Carrying a prayer mat, he walked along a path leading to a building within the centers complex, the building shaded by clusters of bamboo trees. Achmad reached an ablution water source. He was soon praying solemnly to God.

The square structure in which Achmad prayed has a c